Shuttered
by Nghi
Summary: One day, the well stopped working.
1. note

**an:** pretend the ending never happened in the series, and you should be all set.

this is the last thing i'll be writing for the IY fandom. it's nothing too long. i lurk around fictionpress these days, usually under **nghi** or **skankasaurus**, but i still check back on my old fanfiction from time to time because they bring serious lolz.

thx for the good times, loves. one day, i'll change everything into original fiction.


	2. one

One day, the well stopped working.

At first, she was devastated. Technically, she had a panic attack first. She didn't expect to hit the ground as hard, and so the impact sent her tumbling headfirst into the wooden sides. There were scraped knees and scattered bows, but Kagome didn't register the pain—only shock. Then it morphed into fear, and she climbed out of the well frantically only to dive forward once more. When Souta found her, Kagome had just pushed herself off the ledge for the forty-seventh time. She collapsed at the bottom, crying when a sharp pebble dug into her temple. Her kneecaps were scraped clean, but her face was smudged with tears and dirt.

"Kagome," Souta cried, peering into the dark hole, "Kagome, are you crazy? Do you want to die?"

Kagome didn't have the heart to tell her little brother that it was too late, that something inside of her had shriveled up the moment the well had refused to let her through. Maybe Naraku was behind all of this. If he was, then she was going to hunt him down and personally gouge his eyes with a holy arrow. If she ever had the chance to return, that is. Kagome drew her knees to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut, but it couldn't stop the cold truth from seeping into her bones. It had taken two painful hours, but she finally realized that she wouldn't be going anywhere... except maybe to a hospital.

"He needs me," she said, "Inuyasha needs me, but I can't get back."

Souta didn't answer her. He was too busy calling for Grandpa and Mama, who burst into the shrine moments later and pulled Kagome out of the well. She found herself in the kitchen, watching Mama's face twist as she cleaned Kagome's wounds. Grandpa lit four incense sticks before running out of the door, while Souta stayed back and chewed his finger nervously.

"Oh, spirits of the heavens," Grandpa said, loud enough for Kagome to hear from where she was sitting, "I beg you to hear my prayer and help my granddaughter find the way back home!" A few minutes later, some horrible Chinese firecrackers went off, which she could only guess was his way of awakening the gods.

Obviously, it didn't work. But Grandpa was a fantastic zealot and kept at it for a week, an entire week of burning smells and loud chants permeating the walls, until the local firefighters had to visit one night. Mama stood at the bottom of the steps afterwards, trying her best to explain, while Souta stood silently beside her and watched the firefighters roll up the hose. Grandpa was the only one removed from everyone; he sat on the top step, his hair askew and shoulders slumped as he watched the scene unfold before him. Kagome looked at the shrine that had covered the well, now decorated with singed walls and a caved roof, before walking over to Grandpa and sitting beside him.

"You tried," she said, patting his hand.

Grandpa sighed heavily. "I didn't mean to kick over the incense pot," he said.

"I know."

"It wasn't supposed to end up like this."

"It happens, Grandpa. It was an accident."

He looked up, the red light from the fire truck sirens dancing across his face. "I don't know what happened," he said, a fat tear rolling down his weathered cheek. "I didn't even expect it."


	3. two

Four years.

That was how long she had spent finding the jewel, all four hundred and sixty-two pieces of it. She had invested, gambled, and risked her life in one form or another for a necklace that had accidentally broken. She had accidentally fallen down the well; had accidentally woken Inuyasha from sleep; had accidentally gotten in the middle of a war between good and evil. It was a series of unfortunate events ending with an unfortunate arrow shot, and before she knew it, the Shikon was soaring upwards, shaking violently as it crumbled and scattered across the sky. In retrospect, Kagome had no obligation to stay and help Inuyasha put the damn thing together. She could have just as easily yelled _ganbatte!_ before hopping over the well. He was even wearing the prayer beads at the time, so how could he stop her? If she had been a few years older, there would have been a little less nobility and a lot more self-preservation.

But she had been fifteen and naïve, and because of that one misjudgment, Kagome had watched her school rank plummet and her future flush down the toilet. All because she had been too busy fending off demons instead of doing her math problems. Apparently, Naraku had another talent besides existing as a joy-sucking parasite; he could also make you fail geometry.

Looking back, she wondered why she had sabotaged her own future like that. Maybe if she had scraped by with a C or even a D-plus, Kagome could have skipped a few rungs on the career ladder. She didn't need to be a doctor; she could have been CEO of her own company, a struggling fashion designer, or even an office lady. They were all going somewhere, goals in mind and dreams to achieve. She didn't have to ask. It was in their strides, the way they walked up and down the streets of Tokyo with agendas, clients, and purposes. Unlike her, they knew where their lives were headed.


End file.
